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“I can’t stay. My brother is paying for all this and I can’t do that to him,” I mutter absent-mindedly as I empty my nightstand drawer into my bag. “He’s all I have left and I’m such a fucking burden to him. I didn’t know it was that much… I should’ve asked him.” Tears blur my vision as I thrust open the closet doors and start grabbing sweaters off the hangers.
Liam grabs my arm and when I try to tug away from him, he firms his grip.
“Let me go!” I scream, inches from his face, overwhelming emotions rampaging through me. My blood is on fire and my breaths are labored. I sob and jerk my arm repeatedly to get away from him. “Liam, let me go!”
He grits his teeth and pulls me close, securing my thrashing arms and holding me so tight I can hardly breathe.
“Wynn… you need to calm down. Please,” he says in a soothing voice. But my inner demons are waging war, my heart beating too rapidly for me to hear reason.
I sink my teeth into his bicep but he still refuses to let me go.
“That hurts.” He chuckles darkly as he lowers himself to the floor with me still wrapped in his arms. “That fucking hurts so much, sunshine. You know I love pain, but I don’t think you’ll like what you leave behind.” His voice is hauntingly low and raspy.
My jaw trembles as my tears wet his sweater. A metallic sting touches my taste buds and I instantly release him, pulling my head back and looking up at his face with utter horror at what I’ve just done.
Liam’s eyes are a sea of calm and understanding, reeling me back in from my mania and instilling a new fear within me.
I’m afraid of what I can do when I’m not myself, in the brief moments when too many horrible thoughts run through my mind. This is why I hate myself. Because I do awful things to people I care about.
My eyes shift to his arm, where I sunk my teeth into his flesh. Blood seeps through his sweater and dizziness falls over me.
“It’sokay,Wynn. Are you okay?” He lifts his hand and brushes my cheek softly, but I’m too focused on his arm. Why isn’t he mad at me? I try to lift his sweater to see the wound; he needs to be treated immediately, he needs—
“Hey.” Liam guides me to face him once more, my eyes meeting his. The look he gives me is both bewitching and heart-wrenching. “Are you okay?”
He stares into my soul, waiting for an answer. My eyes fill with fresh tears and I shake my head.
“No.”
He cups both of my cheeks and pulls me in. His soft lips press against mine and with every beat of his heart, mine crumbles. His oak scent consumes me, and for a blissful moment, I’m not me anymore. I’m not the character I’ve hated my entire life.
I’m just a woman kissing a man.
Wynn kissing Liam.
Is it as simple as that?
Can it be?
Warm tears meet my lips and my eyes flutter open.
Liam’s crying.
I pull back and try wiping his tears away, yet they still trickle down his cheeks. “Liam, are you—”
“I’m not okay either,” he whispers, his voice trembling. “I’ve never been okay. But when I watch you fall apart, it hurts too much for me to bear. Please don’t go to those dark places, Wynn. Please stay here in the dim light with me. You’re my last hope—my cure.” He lets his arms hang heavily at his sides as he sobs, his forehead resting on my shoulder. “Let me try to help you,please.”
I wind my arms around him and hug him like it will be my last.
“I’m so sorry. I never meant to hurt you… but I did.” My fingers twine in his soft, dark hair. “I feel like such a burden on everyone. Even you, look what I did.” My shoulders tremble as I sob with him.
A knock comes at the door and before either of us can move, it clicks open. Lanston steps in, his eyes landing on me immediately. “What’s going on in here? I heard screaming.” He pauses when he sees blood and both of our faces covered in tears.
A few other heads peer in through the doorway but Lanston kicks the door shut and locks it before kneeling beside us.
“Did he hurt you?” Lanston’s hazel eyes search mine worriedly. Liam manages to glare at him but doesn’t respond.
Why would he think that?
